Revelations
by justcourbeau
Summary: Interactions over time make Neville Longbottom change his mind about the odd Ravenclaw Luna Lovegood.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: Sections of dialogue are taken directly from Order of the Phoenix, and I'm not claiming them as my own in any way.**

* * *

"What are you talking about? There's room in this one, there's only Loony Lovegood in here -" Ginny brushed close to Neville's body and he felt a flush unfurl in his cheeks.

Neville had been looking for a compartment to join on the train for ages, but everywhere seemed to be full. Trevor struggled to get free from his hand, and his shoulder ached from dragging his trunk up and down the narrow corridor awkwardly. He mumbled an excuse, the real reason being that he had not wanted to join the eccentric Ravenclaw in the compartment that was empty aside from her. He was awkward enough in group settings; no need to accentuate it by being the only two people sitting in silence with no distractions.

"Don't be silly," Ginny admonished lightly and flashed him a grin, leading him and Harry back down to the compartment door and sliding it open. The young redhead secured them seats as the blonde girl observed Neville closer than he would have liked before moving onto Harry and they shuffled in, lifting trunks and settling into the seats. Neville nearly dropped Hedwig, who ruffled her feathers and fixed him with a glare until well after he had slid her cage delicately onto the luggage rack.

Luna was giving them a surprised look, and Neville thought the permanence of it might mean that her eyes just always looked like that. It was likely, considering she was reading a magazine upside down, had a cork necklace around her neck and had her wand precariously tucked behind her ear.)

"Have a good summer, Luna?" Ginny broke the short silence, pulling Luna's eyes from where they had been fixed on Harry.

"Yes, yes it was quite enjoyable, you know. _You're _Harry Potter," she voiced dreamily.

"I know I am," Harry answered instinctively, and Neville chuckled. The noise attracted the girl's attention to him once more and Neville found himself under her pale blue gaze.

"And I don't know who you are," she mused.

"I'm nobody," Neville responded hastily, ducking his head.

"No, you're not," Ginny interjected. "Neville Longbottom - Luna Lovegood. Luna's in my year, but in Ravenclaw."

"_Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure_," she sing-songed oddly, disappearing behind her magazine without another word.

Harry and Neville looked at each other, their perplexed eyebrows raised, and Ginny giggled.

Who was this girl?

Neville quickly forgot his pondering of the new girl's oddities after trying to impress the occupants of the compartment with his new plant, which resulted in him coating himself and Harry in Stinksap just in time to embarrass Harry in front of Cho Chang.

"Sorry," Neville grimaced after Ginny vanished the foul-smelling sludge.

Over the course of the next few hours, Hermione and Ron returned from the Prefect carriage and Luna Lovegood had managed to provoke odd silences at her comments and almost died laughing at Ron's story about giving lines to Goyle as revenge for years of teasing at the hands of Malfoy's cronies. She also adored Pigwidgeon.

The word 'odd' was getting a bit overused in Neville's mind.

* * *

The Hog's Head was grimy. Not that Neville cared, but he was sure the group of students sitting in the far corner of the old pub were the most business it had seen in decades: a timespan he had hastily estimated by the thickness of the dust on the window ledge farthest from the door. Neville considered the term 'window' and turned away from the glass; he was obviously using the word loosely as no light was able to shine in through it.

Neville walked up the main street with Dean and Lavender, and—after casting a glance over his shoulder to see who else might be joining their furtive anti-Umbridge Defence meeting—knew that Loony Lovegood was trailing behind Cho Chang and her friend, who were following after the Patil twins. The identical girls tittered behind him incessantly, and when he had settled opposite Harry he was relieved that all the chatter died down. There were about thirty students there, a selection from each house, save Slytherin, and all were staring intently at Harry, waiting for him to make his speech. Aside from Luna—who looked as though she might not know why she had accompanied thirty-odd classmates up the hill to a dodgy pub but was happy about the company all the same—people seemed quite focused and air was anticipatory.

As the meeting was brought to unofficial order, Neville got the distinct impression that a few of the people there were in attendance only to hear what Harry had to say about Cedric Diggory's death, and to hear his story about Voldemort in person. Harry quickly shut that down and Hermione eloquently voiced the reasons they had all gathered there.

To stick it to the Ministry, obviously. With the positive by-product being actually able to defend oneself.

Neville shuffled in his chair, throwing in his two cents where applicable and flushing red when he mispronounced 'philosopher' while backing Harry up. Rather unperturbed by his fumble, Luna merely nodded in understanding while others either remained quiet or chuckled at the sheer Neville-ness of his blunder.

In the end, people had started to leave in twos and threes and Ginny left with Michael Corner, who Neville had heard she was dating now. He sighed.

He had tried to kiss her at the Yule Ball last winter; he _had _kissed her. It had just been bad. He had been so embarrassed that he had avoided her at all costs, and now he couldn't see why. She had spoken to him on the train as if nothing was amiss and she had greeted him today the same as she always had. Although, she had had nearly a year to get over the horridness of it all.

When he turned to see who else was leaving for the main part of town to enjoy the rest of the Hogsmeade trip, Harry, Ron and Hermione were in deep conversation over something and Luna was standing a few feet away just looking at him quietly.

"Do you want to - to go?" Neville said, as he motioned for the door. Luna nodded lightly, giving him a whimsical smile before leading the way out of the establishment. The cool October air gusted about them as they emerged onto High Street and Neville struggled with whether or not to say anything to Luna. "So how've your classes been?" he settled on.

"Oh, quite good," she answered simply. "Dirigible Plum?"

Luna had reached into her coat pocket and pulled out an orangey-rust coloured fruit, holding it out to him as if the timing of her offer made perfect sense.

"Er, no thank you," Neville responded.

The two of them shuffled down the street slowly, Luna's boots treading the cobblestones almost haphazardly as her attention ebbed and flowed on their short trip. She made no more comments right up until they parted ways oddly and went about their own business.

"Goodbye, Neville," she gave him a small wave.

Luna Lovegood was the sort of person who didn't give a phoenix feather about custom or politeness and didn't even seem to register awkwardness in the slightest.

That might actually work well in his favour.

* * *

"Ok, I reckon we should all divide into pairs and practice," Harry stated surely.

Words Neville dreaded because, as usual, it meant he was the odd man out. Harry quickly covered for him, and decided they would practise on each other for this first D.A. meeting. Neville fought the blush rising in his cheeks; even after so long being the butt of jokes, the odd man out, and the perpetually clumsy one who needed no help from outside sources for public humiliation, he still felt the sting of rejection in these circumstances.

Expelliarmus was the first spell on the docket and the room filled with shouts and spellcasting. Harry of course disarmed Neville in the blink of an eye. When Neville disarmed Harry, albeit while he was looking in the opposite direction, Neville felt quite proud.

It was something.

Though for this it seemed he need not be ashamed; more than half the room seemed to be having trouble in some way. Zacharias Smith didn't seem to be able to hold onto his wand, and Anthony Goldstein wasn't uttering a word to attribute the cause to him. The Creevey brothers seemed to have the force of the spell down but their aim left much to be desired; books jumped off the shelves around them at random as the pair brandished their wands at each other. Ginny was beating Michael Corner _into _a corner as the poor sod wasn't willing to raise his wand against his new girlfriend.

Neville felt his wand fly out of his hand after surveying the group for a moment.

"Neville, you've got to pay attention," Hermione admonished, bending to pick up the wand she had just relieved him of and handing it back.

"Right, sorry Hermione," Neville ducked his head and took his stance against her and Ron, the three of them taking turns trying to disarm the others.

Their first meeting had resulted in mixed feelings throughout the group. It was somewhat anti-climactic, starting with such a simple spell that obviously people had not grasped before now. But it was reassuring: many had made progress. Neville had managed to make Hermione's wand jump in her hand, and Ron actually dropped his once or twice, though he couldn't tell if that was his spell or Ron trying to encourage him.

"Oops, sorry," Neville stumbled, his hold on his Herbology texts slipping as he turned a corner and tripped over the leg of a study table on the way. A few books dropped and Neville hopped on the spot, his pinkie toe throbbing in his shoe violently.

"It's quite alright." The breezy voice of Luna Lovegood prompted him to look around the books still in his arms.

The blonde girl bent to pick up the fallen books and looked up at him expectantly.

"Hi," he stammered.

"Hello."

Silence.

"Er, I'll just take those." Neville moved to relieve her of his books and nearly toppled his stack yet again.

"I can help carry them. Don't want the bimblesnips to get you again. Where are you sitting?" she asked quietly, her radish earrings swinging happily at her jawline.

"...I'm just over by the window there."

Neville chose to ignore her strange comment about something he had never heard of before and wasn't entirely sure actually existed, and she led the way over to where he had left his bag and homework.

"You _would _love the window."

"Pardon?" he asked before sliding into his chair and watching Luna settle across the table from him lightly, as if a gentle breeze might blow her in another direction. Neville had the sneaking suspicion she wouldn't have minded.

"You're a heliophiliac, aren't you?" Luna questioned casually.

"A what?" Neville furrowed his brow at the strange girl.

"You love the sun," she answered lightly, looking back out the window. "Just like your plants."

A small smile quirked his lips and Neville let out a thoughtful '_huh_'.

* * *

"I must've been mental to do this." Ron dropped himself limply onto the bench beside Neville in the Great Hall the morning of the first Quidditch game of the season. The new keeper was slightly green around the collar and his voice lacked the humour it normally held. "_Mental_."

"Don't be thick," said Harry, laying out cereal for his friend, "You're going to be fine. It's normal to be nervous."

"I'm rubbish," Ron insisted. "I'm lousy. I can't play to save my life. What was I thinking?"

"Get a grip," Harry growled. "Look at that save you made with your foot the other day, even Fred and George said it was brilliant." He tried to infuse some enthusiasm into the conversation and turn Ron away from being negative over his first game in front of the school.

"That was an accident," Ron grimaced and whispered. "I didn't mean to do it - I slipped off my broom when none of you were looking and when I was trying to get back on I kicked the Quaffle by accident."

"Well," Harry recovered awkwardly, "a few more accidents like that and the game's in the bag, isn't it?"

Hermione and Ginny slid onto the bench across from the boys, donning red and gold scarves, gloves and rosettes. Neville noted belatedly that Ginny's hair clashed quite magnificently with the Gryffindor red she was sporting, but the confident fourth year could not care less.

"How are you feeling?" Ginny asked Ron, observing his dejected stare that he had directed into the dregs of his cereal bowl.

"He's just nervous," Harry insisted gently.

"Well that's a good sign, I never feel you perform as well in exams if you're not a bit nervous," Hermione tried to reassure their ginger friend.

"Hello," a familiarly dreamy voice piped up from behind them and they all turned to survey Luna, who had drifted over from the Ravenclaw table wearing a monstrosity of a hat. It was shaped like a lion and gave the distinct impression that it might topple off her head at any moment. Many around them snickered and laughed, and Neville fought the desire to scowl at them all. "I'm supporting Gryffindor." The girl pointed vaguely at her head. "Look what it does..."

When Luna tapped the hat with her wand, the thing gave a very loud, very realistic roar and Neville grinned as the others jumped at the unexpected noise.

"It's good, isn't it?" Luna asked happily. "I wanted to have it chewing up a serpent to represent Slytherin, you know, but there wasn't time. Anyway... good luck, Ronald!"

Harry and Ron disappeared a little later to head down to the Pitch with the other Quidditch players, the look on Angelina's face sending a shiver down Neville's spine.

"Come on, Neville," Ginny chirruped happily. "Let's head down and get good seats in the stands."

Hermione, Ginny and Neville traipsed down the hill with the rest of the student body, eager to see the outcome of the game. Following the girls down over some craggy rocks in the path, a great roar came from close behind them and Neville looked up to see Luna waving dreamily at them and trying to catch up. Unfortunately, his divided attention caused him to slip and fall face-first to the grass with a whoosh of air leaving his lungs on impact.

"Oh Neville, you seem to attract those bimblesnips in droves." Luna offered him a small hand and he took it. "You know I've heard pickled beets and stewed plantain can have some affect in repelling them -"

"Oh, thanks Luna." Neville let her warm hand go immediately and brushed dirt from his knees, casting a glance around to see if anyone had noted his tumble over the rocks. A group of Slytherins was pointing and laughing at he and Luna, and when her hat roared again it provoked them into hysterics. Turning away from them and sighing quietly, the pair set off after Hermione and Ginny who had their heads tucked closely together, their discussion punctuated with plenty of hand-waving.

Suddenly, Neville's elbow was bumped roughly a number of times the Slytherins passed by the pair, derisive glares and mean-spirited jests aplenty sent his way.

"The sky is so clear today; the fairies must be quite delighted." Luna pulled his attention away from Pansy Parkinson's sneer.

They hated him, and she didn't care. It didn't faze her one bit.

* * *

**A/N: So this was written as a challenge to write a couple I had never tried before, and there's another chapter or two to come.**

**Hope you enjoyed my first part of my first stab at Neville/Luna! Check back soon.**

**Leave me a review!**

**Cheers**


	2. Chapter 2

**Again, sections of dialogue are taken directly from OoTP and it is in no way my work.**

* * *

At the first D.A. meeting after Christmas break, Neville had not opened his mouth for fear of incriminating himself in front of everyone in attendance. Not that he had anything to be ashamed of, but he didn't trust himself since he'd read about the breakout from Azkaban by a group of ten Death Eaters that included the witch responsible for putting his parents in St. Mungo's.

The news did embolden him though.

He was quite determined to study harder and learn more than he ever had in order to prepare for life in the real world. If he ever got he chance to avenge them, he would, and for that he would need to be the best.

When they had started with the Shield Charm in February, Neville was bested only by Hermione and that was to be expected. In short order he was deflecting jinxes and hexes to such a degree that not even Ginny's Tripping Jinx had made it through.

They had practiced Stunning weeks ago, and Luna was surprisingly adept at that spell however she couldn't block any very well and after Neville's impressive display she asked him for help.

"You're talking to me? You want _me_ to help _you_?" Neville had stared at her as they were preparing to leave the Room of Requirement after another meeting.

"You're quite good at Shield Charms..." Luna had nodded, her eyes large and blue.

"You're certain you want to... be seen with me?" Neville had frowned, remembering the last time they had been together and the Slytherins' comments.

"We can practice somewhere people won't stumble across us if you prefer," Luna had suggested and Neville thought that she probably didn't grasp exactly what he had meant by it.

"That's not - What I -" he had stuttered. "Well, alright. Maybe you could help me with Stunning? I'm still not - well, I could still be better with Stunning."

Luna had beamed at him before heading off in the opposite direction along the seventh floor corridor and Neville had stared after her for a few moments before catching up with Dean and Seamus heading for Gryffindor Tower.

That agreement was what found Neville and Luna together on a Tuesday afternoon, the weak winter sunshine falling through the window between them in the unused classroom. The dust motes danced between the spells cast between them, briefly lighting up and then swirling away gently.

"Protego!" Luna uttered clearly and Neville sent a simple Rictusempra Charm at her from across the room. She had suggested earlier that he use something like a Stinging Hex to which he had protested firmly. Not only was he not sure he would do it right, but he didn't want to actually land one on her and hurt her. And if it was wrong, who knew what he could do to her unintentionally.

Neville twirled his wand at her and whispered his chosen spell, watching her stoic expression crack immediately. A giggle slipped from between her lips and when he ended the spell, she sighed happily before becoming emotionless again.

"You're still not getting it..." Neville pondered.

"How am I supposed to block with something I can't see?" she pondered thoughtfully, as if it were a riddle to puzzle out.

Luna was in Ravenclaw for a reason and the fact that she was having trouble conjuring a strong shield _consistently_ was beginning to frustrate the petite blonde. She could _cast_ one just fine, just not every time she tried. Neville thought it rather had to do with her attention drifting in and out easily despite how brilliant she was when she got it.

"How about you -" he started, an idea striking him. "How about you try to see the shield? Could you try that?"

"Is that what you do?" she asked lightly.

"No, but," Neville cocked his head. "I try to feel it, if that makes sense. I just concentrate on making it feel strong and patching any holes."

"That makes sense," Luna confirmed and lifted her wand once more. "Protego!"

Neville gave her a moment to shift her stance and hopefully fortify her barrier before sending another whispered jinx her way. It bounced off and landed on the stone nearby. Neville beamed at her encouragingly and sent a spoken spell at her this time, upping the intensity just a bit. It bounced off, following the same path as the other one. Luna didn't drop her concentration at all, and nodded at him to have another go. They continued on that way for a minute or two, Neville increasing the power of the Tickling Charm each time.

"Rictusempra!" he cried, twirling enthusiastically. Luna collapsed a split second later, peals of laughter echoing around the room and bouncing off the pile of desks and chairs in one corner. Triumphant, Neville lifted the charm and crossed the classroom to help her up. She was still grinning and her cheeks had flushed a light pink after her thorough tickling under Neville's wand.

"I did it!" she sighed happily. "You're quite brilliant Neville."

"Oh, I'm - It was all you, really," he chuckled, casting his eyes to the floor and letting her hand go after she was upright.

"You're a good teacher," she nodded to herself at her comment before dusting herself off and twisting her hair up and sticking her wand in it to hold it there. "Thanks Neville. Stunning next week?"

"Sure," he nodded.

* * *

The following Monday Neville woke up late and stumbled out of the dormitories as quickly as possible. His shirt was no more rumpled than it normally was first thing but he was rather out of breath when he arrived in the Great Hall for breakfast to find a commotion at the Gryffindor table, predictably right were Harry, Hermione and Ron were seated.

"What's going on?" Ron asked with a tone of amazement as Neville slipped onto the bench beside them. Harry was trying to pull a letter from the leg of one brown owl while trying not to let the half-dozen other ones break into a fight about who got to deliver the next one.

"Harry!" Hermione was grinning, breathless and pink-cheeked at a realization. "I think I know what this means - Open this one first!"

Out from the package she had handed him slipped the March edition of The Quibbler with Harry's face staring back at him from the front cover.

_Harry Potter Speaks Out At Last:_

_The Truth About He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named_

_And The Night I Saw Him Return_

"It's good, isn't it?" Luna appeared, swaying over from the Ravenclaw table and slipping into between Fred and Ron. "It came out yesterday, I asked Dad to send you a free copy. I expect all these are letters from readers." She gestured to the fidgeting owls still waiting to be relieved of their correspondence.

"That's what I thought," Hermione piped in. "Harry, d'you mind if we -"

"Help yourself," Harry invited.

Seven hands reached out to rip open letters in Harry's stead.

"This one's from a bloke who thinks you're off your rocker," Ron quickly skimmed the first letter. "Ah well..."

"This woman recommends you try a good course of Shock Spells at St. Mungo's," Hermione frowned and scrunched her letter up.

"This one looks okay, though," said Harry, scanning the letter in his hand slowly. "Hey, she says she believes me!" The one Neville had grasped said the same thing and he nodded enthusiastically.

"This one's in two minds," Fred started. "Says you don't come across as a mad person, but he really doesn't want to believe You-Know-Who's back so he doesn't know what to think now... Blimey, what a waste of parchment..."

"Here's another one you've convinced, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "'Having read your story I am forced to the conclusion that the Daily Prophet has treated you very unfairly... Little though I want to think that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned, I am forced to accept that you are telling the truth...' Oh this is wonderful!"

"Another one who thinks you're barking," said Ron, throwing a ball of crumpled parchment over his shoulder, "but this one says you've got her converted, and she now thinks you're a real hero - She's put in a photograph too - Wow -" Ron's eyebrows flew up on his forehead as he cocked his head to the side and admired the witch in the picture she'd enclosed.

"What's going on here?" a sickly sweet voice froze the blood in their veins and Neville slowly looked up to find Professor Umbridge standing over Fred and Luna, her eyes scanning the scene coldly. "Why have you got all these letters, Mr. Potter?" she asked in a subtly dangerous tone.

"Is that a crime now? Getting mail?" Fred asked, his voice carrying.

"Be careful, Mr. Weasley, or I shall have you put in detention," she threatened. "Well, Mr. Potter?"

"People have written to me because I gave an interview," Harry hesitated only a moment. "About what happened to me last June." A defiant look took up in his eyes and Neville suppressed a grin despite the chill in his bones from the Professor's presence.

"An interview?" her tone raised slightly. "What do you mean?"

"I mean a reporter asked me questions and I answered them," said Harry with a small snort. "Here -" he tossed her his copy of The Quibbler. When she caught it her face reflected clearly her opinion of Harry's recent activities and her face started turning a peculiar shade of violet.

"When did you do this?" her voice was low now with suppressed rage.

"Last Hogsmeade weekend," Harry replied.

The students close enough to hear the two speak were looking back and forth between them as if a train was crashing and they couldn't possibly miss a word of it.

"There will be no more Hogsmeade trips for you, Mr. Potter," the magazine trembled in her hand. "How dare you... How you could..." She took a deep calming breath and Neville grimaced in preparation of the next words out of her mouth. "I have tried again and again to teach you not to tell lies. The message, apparently, has still not sunk in. Fifty points from Gryffindor and another week's worth of detentions."

"Worth it," Harry nodded after her retreating form was far enough away not to overhear him and the rest of the group tittered happily. The farther away Umbridge got, the more warmth sunk back into them and before long they were reading more mail and joking again as if nothing had brought them down to begin with. The rest of the students were looking on curiously but they needed have worried; before the end of the day there were massive signs all over the school warning students that in no uncertain terms they were not to be in possession of The Quibbler or they would risk expulsion.

By the next day, Luna had brought some fantastic news.

"Dad's reprinting!" she dropped by at dinner. "He can't believe it, he says people seem even more interested in this than the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks!"

"Astounding!" Neville grinned at her and smiled back wistfully.

"Stunning?" Luna suggested after he had taken the last bite of his dinner roll and washed it down with some pumpkin juice.

"Oh, right," he stepped away from the table over the bench and bent to pick up his bag. "See you guys later!" he called to the group. A glance behind them as they trotted away towards the Entrance Hall showed that no one had blinked at them departing together and he sighed happily.

"We'll need some cushions..." Luna commented on the way up to the old classroom.

"Er, I don't know how to conjure those," Neville mumbled.

"Room of Requirement then. It'll provide some like when we needed them last with everyone else," Luna answered logically.

An hour later they had been practicing and Neville had only managed to land a handful of good stunners. Luna stood waiting patiently, swaying back and forth with her hands at her sides with a pleasantly distant smile on her face.

"I have terrible aim," Neville lamented.

"It's not your aim, Neville. I can feel every one you cast, you just have to have the intent," Luna replied succinctly.

"But -"

"Exactly. Just Stun me already," she laughed.

She wouldn't let him leave until he had all but shouted '_Stupefy_!' with perfect aim and caused her to fall back onto the thick layer of large plush pillows they had placed specifically to catch her. Alarmed, Neville rushed over with wide eyes and gently pressed the tip of his wand to her chest to wake her up.

"Well done, Neville," she congratulated him softly, as if he hadn't just knocked her out.

Neville felt his cheeks heat as he helped her up and she stood gracefully.

"Well done," she reiterated and patted him on the arm wistfully.

* * *

April marked the beginning of revision for OWLs though the wake-up call to the lazier fifth years had come with Hannah Abbott's bout of tears in Herbology and her sobbing insistence that she was too stupid for exams and wanted to go home immediately.

The D.A. meetings seemed to be helping people keep their heads however, reassuring them that in the very least they had Defence Against the Dark Arts in the bag. Upon hearing that they were going to be starting Patronuses, people had been ecstatic and Neville soon learned why.

"They're so pretty!" Cho exclaimed after producing a silver swan just before Easter.

"They're not supposed to be pretty, they're supposed to protect you," Harry responded patiently. "What we really need is a boggart or something; that's how I learned. I had to conjure a Patronus while the boggart was pretending to be a dementor -"

"But that would be really scary!" cried Lavender. Silver puffs were coming out of her wand and Neville frowned, thinking perhaps that she was now so frustrated that her sharp wand shakes were not helping the situation at all. "And I still - Can't - Do it!" she grunted angrily.

Neville sympathized. His face was bunched up and he was turning red under the concentration of trying to conjure his own Patronus but at least he wasn't getting mad at the fact that he hadn't got it yet.

"You've got to think of something happy," Harry reminded them.

"I'm trying," Neville tried not to sound to put out.

"Harry, I think I'm doing it!" Seamus had voiced from the other side of the room. It was his first meeting ever and he and Dean were standing under a large bookshelf surrounded by silver wisps. "Look - Ah - It's gone... But it was definitely something hairy, Harry!"

The group had tittered at that before going back to their individual struggles.

"They _are_ sort of nice, aren't they?" Hermione commented whimsically, her eyes following her silver otter in circles around her. Luna's silver hare bounded by her and over to Neville, hopping in tight circles around him. Neville flicked his eyes over to spot the small witch to see her standing there rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet with her arms clasped behind her back, admiring her handiwork.

'_Protego_' she mouthed with a small smile.

'_Stupefy_' he mouthed back and a new hope flooded him as he went back to concentrating resolutely on the task before him. The silver mist became more pronounced and thickened but still no shape started to emerge.

"Hi, Dobby! What're you - What's wrong?" Harry's voice floated over the crowd, the murmuring and chatting of practice time petering out. The look in the elf's eyes sent a frisson through Neville and he knew before the house-elf even opened his mouth that he came bearing bad news. Neville bent to retrieve his bag and grabbed his discarded pullover from the side of the room while Harry conversed with the elf.

"Harry Potter... She... She..."

Gasps started as people were putting two and two together.

"Umbridge?" Harry questioned, a horrified expression seeping onto his face. Neville felt his heart constrict tightly in terror. The was shuffling as Harry bent down to converse with the elf quietly and a second later he shot back up.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? RUN!" Harry yelled at them, the sound reverberating around the mirrored room and everyone scrambled for the door. There was a backlog and then suddenly the dam burst and people were running in every direction.

"Neville!" Luna called quietly and beckoned him over. The two of them took off, heading for the library. Curfew wasn't for another ten minutes and they raced down to the third floor and into the library, slowing to a trot as they passed Madam Pince's desk. She looked up from her book and tapped her wristwatch, reminding them that they had only minutes before curfew and Luna nodded, waving vaguely. Luna directed him around the second bookshelf and took them right to the end of the row, dumping her bag unceremoniously on the table there. Neville followed her lead and she tugged a stack of parchment out of her own bag along with a quill and ink.

"I don't have any homework on me!" Neville panicked and reached for a random book on the shelf. "What if they don't believe me?"

"Irma, has anyone come in here in the last five minutes?" the voice of Delores Umbridge floated over to them, making Neville freeze up. He didn't want to be caught! Gran would never let him live it down.

"You'll think of something, Neville," Luna smiled wistfully, sliding back to sit on the table and swing her legs back and forth.

The sound of Umdridge's shoes echoed in the nearly-empty library and Neville's heart beat out of his chest when an idea occurred to him.

"Sorry, Luna," he whispered and seized her gently by the shoulders, pressing his lips to hers. Just as he saw the pink robes round the corner down the row he slammed his eyes shut and raised his palms to Luna's cheeks.

_What was he doing_?

Luna was kind and helped him and didn't care that he was the clumsiest dunce at Hogwarts and he was repaying her by making her suffer through kissing him. She was going to avoid him now, he knew it. Ginny had been a good friend, and then they had lost nearly a year because Neville hadn't been able to face her after their terrible snog and now the same thing was going to happen with Luna. He was forcing her through the awkwardness of kissing him, even if it was to convince Umbridge and her band of power-hungry Slytherins that they had nothing to do with the group of kids they had nearly caught in the Room of Requirement.

"Just what do you think you're _doing_?" her voice ripped toward them and Neville pulled away slowly, opening his eyes and trying to gauge how long to apologize to Luna for for what he had done. She gave a little sigh and went back to swinging her legs under the table and Umbridge drew closer and brandished her wand at them. "Curfew is in five minutes! You ought to be on your way back to your common rooms! Separately!"

Neville stuttered and flustered, hurrying under her watch to pack his bag as Luna calmly waved her wand over her things and they slid back into her own satchel smoothly. The book he had pulled from the shelf flew back to it's place and Luna smiled at the irate witch peacefully.

"Time flies when you're having fun. There must be a Blibbering Humdinger nearby," she commented assuredly and set off the way they had come just minutes before. "Come on Neville, she's quite right."

Avoiding Umbridge's glare he rounded behind her and hurried after Luna, who waved again to Madam Pince, who winked at the girl slyly.

"Pince _covered _for us?"

"She's very lovely, you know," Luna concluded and they left the library quickly. There was a beat of silence.

"Sorry, about you know -"

"Oh it was quite marvellous, Neville. See you tomorrow!" she announced happily and set off in the direction of the Ravenclaw Common Room, blonde hair swinging.

"Quite _what_?" he quirked his head. "Just how loony is she?" he pondered quietly, but turned to make his own way back up to the Gryffindor dormitories. "Blibbering Humdingers?"

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for the feedback!  
**

**I'm really enjoying this as a side project, finding ways to incorporate moments between these two around established canon, hopefully in a believable way. Hopefully you guys don't mine re-reading some bits from OoTP because I think it provides context for the timeline and also a good starting point.**

**Might turn out to be a bit longer than I had anticipated but only by a little bit. **

**Leave a review!**

**Cheers!**


	3. Chapter 3

**As usual, sections (larger ones this time) are taken straight from OoTP and it is not my work.**

* * *

Dumbledore had been forced to leave the castle due to the D.A.'s name on their member list and regrettably, Umbridge was now the Headmistress. The only upside to this was the blatant displays of rebellion, none topped by the Weasley Twins' efforts.

The last weekend in May brought the final Quidditch match of the season, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw.

"I mean, I can't get any worse, can I?" Ron had voiced over breakfast that morning. "Nothing to lose now, is there?"

Neville found himself agreeing with the Keeper, knowing that the Slytherins got under his skin, regardless if Gryffindor were playing them or not.

Harry, Hermione and Neville made their way down to the Quidditch Pitch later on and Luna caught up with them. There had been no more D.A. meetings obviously, and he and Luna hadn't met to practice on their own since 'The Library Snog' as Neville thought of it. He had been making a habit of dodging behind corners and columns when he spotted her willowy figure or bright hair; thank Merlin for his tall stature. He hadn't been quite ready to face her.

When she joined them, though, he wondered why he had even gone through the effort. Luna was her usual drifty self, commenting on the weather and fantastic breeding conditions for the Plimpies in the Black Lake. Neville just nodded and laughed, Luna's eagle hat flapping in response.

Though Harry and Hermione had disappeared mid-game with Hagrid, Neville had a decent time sitting with Luna. Their comradery from spending time together helping one another easily settled any nerves he had about being around her again.

Fifth and seventh years could be spotted in a crowd at fifty paces, examinations taking place in mere weeks as May drew to a close and June began with a lovely wafting breeze that none of them seemed to feel.

"Of course, it's not what you know, it's _who_ you know. Now, Father's been friendly with the Head of the Wizarding Examination Authority for years - Old Griselda Marchbanks - We've had her round for dinner and everything..." Draco Malfoy had boasted a few days before the tart of exams.

"Do you think that's true?" Hermione fretted as they walked tiredly away from Potions.

"Nothing we can do about it if it is," Ron answered dejectedly, causing Hermione to panic more.

"I don't think it's true," Neville piped up from behind them. "Because Griselda Marchbanks is a friend of my gran's, and she's never mentioned the Malfoys."

"What's she like, Neville?" Hermione seized the chance to absorb more knowledge about the examinations in a instant.

"But like Gran, really," he offered.

"Knowing her won't hurt your chances though, will it?" Ron nodded encouragingly.

"Oh, I don't think it'll make a difference," Neville shook his head thinking of the small woman his gran gossiped with over tea every few weeks. "Gran's always telling Professor Marchbanks I'm not as good as my dad... Well... You saw what she's like at St. Mungo's..." he trailed off, hoping that if he kept his eyes on the corridor runner that they would get the hint to not comment on him bring up their run-in or his parents. They didn't.

On the whole, Neville thought his exams had gone overwhelmingly satisfactorily and nothing more, which he had learned over the years was sometimes all one could expect from intensely stressful situations. Hannah Abbott had somehow turned her ferret into a dozen or so flamingos, drawing the Transfiguration exam to a halt for a quarter of an hour while they were captured and carried out of the Hall. Herbology had been a cinch, and it was the only one Neville had been certain he would excel in. When Defence had come after that, he had been sure to cast every defensive spell and counterjinx with precise concentration and he was sure he had landed a good mark for that OWL.

* * *

Come their last exam, History of Magic, Neville was exhausted. Even if he had wanted to pick up with Luna and practice every week, he wouldn't have had the energy. Sighed and rubbing his eyes for umpteenth time that hour, Neville tried hard to concentrate on the question in front of him, the words blurring together in a frustrating manor.

All of a sudden, there was a terrible yell from near the back of the room. Everyone turned in their seats, including Neville, and he grimaced at the scene before him. The Great Hall erupted and at the centre of it all was Harry. Professor Tofty was attempting to tug him away and Neville glanced toward Hermione, who was closest to him in the exam considering their last names.

This couldn't be good.

After he was prodded from the Hall, the other students were forced back to finishing the exam. Another hour later, they exploded into the Entrance Hall and before Neville could find Hermione or Ron, they had disappeared.

Taking his time, Neville started on his way back to the Tower when he overheard a familiar voice.

"You can't come down here! No, sorry, you're going to have to go round by the swivelling staircase, someone's let off Garroting Gas just along here -" Ginny could be heard, and soon he could see her and Luna herded students away from Umbridge's corridor.

"That's because it's colourless," Ginny could be heard again, an exasperated tone in her voice as she was obviously trying to convince someone to listen to her. Neville switched his destination and approached the two of them as the crowd thinned, Luna directing people away serenely as Ginny continued to convince people she was quite serious.

"Hello, Neville," she breezed.

"Oh, Neville, excellent," Ginny seized his arm. "Keep an eye out for Umbridge and if you see her, break into '_Weasley Is Our King_'."

"Alright," Neville nodded, suspecting heavily that this had something to do with Harry's outburst mid-exam. "How's Harry?"

"Acting like a madman on a mission, so sing like you're in the bloody opera," she snorted.

"Let's sit on the sill..." Luna drifted off to the side of the corridor and leaned against the window there. Neville and Ginny followed, each looking down the hall in opposite directions.

"Is he in her _office_?" Neville hissed and they all tried to appear casual in the suspiciously empty hall.

"Hey -" Ginny nodded to him and then called out as her gaze was fixed down the other end of the corridor. "You don't want to come this way - Garroting Gas -"

"Not bloody likely, Weaselette," Malfoy stalked towards them with cronies in tow and the two Gryffindors and the Ravenclaw were quickly pulled into a scuffle with the Slytherins. Before a moment was up, Luna had been shoved against the stone wall by Goyle and a Slytherin girl had seized Ginny's arms behind her back.

"Let go of them!" Neville protested and was quickly seized by Crabbe who knocked him hard on the head before he could draw his wand. Warrington appeared, dragging Ron with him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ginny raged and the girl squeezed her tighter, though Ginny refused to grimace.

"Relieving you of your wands," Malfoy announced and tugged the strips of wood from their pockets and clenched fists forcefully before gaging them and dragging them down the hall roughly towards Umbridge's office. When they burst in they found Hermione being pinned against the wall by Millicent Bulstrode and Harry at the mercy of the pink-decked woman. Crabbe was holding Neville so tight about the neck, he was sure to pass out soon. His head throbbed but he continued to shuffle and fight against the firm hold, determined to free the girls.

"Got 'em all," Warrington announced upon entering the pink office, shoving Ron forward. Ron narrowly avoided tripping and cracking his head on the corned of Umbridge's desk for which he looked relieved. "_That_ one tried to stop us taking _them_," he pointed from Neville to Luna and Ginny, "so I brought him along too."

"Good, good," Umbridge sneered. "Well, it looks as though Hogwarts will soon be a Weasley-free zone, doesn't it?"

Neville's blood boiled at the laugh Malfoy gave. As Umbridge questioned Harry about his activities in her office, she sat upon her chaise lounge as though she had not a trouble in the world. Even when he refused to tell her what was going on, she called for Snape calmly. The captives were still shuffling about and trying to break the hold the Slytherins had on them. Ron was letting his bloody lip drip onto the carpet and Ginny was trying to grind her heel into the foot of her female captor. Neville felt his head pulse more insistently as his ar supply became more cut off but he did see Hermione try to throw Millicent off her a few more times, not that the small Gryffindor would be able to. It was the principle of the matter.

Snape could not help; it turned out that Marietta had been dosed with Veritaserum to give up the D.A. and Umbridge had tried to use it on Harry as well. Neville caught the triumphant look on his face when this was exposed and he grinned as well; Harry had clearly seen through her ruse and avoided it, whenever it had happened.

"He's got Padfoot!" Harry shouted suddenly at Snape's retreating back in a panic. "He's got Padfoot in the place where it's hidden!"

The overlarge man in black halted, his hand on the door.

What was Padfoot? Had Harry finally cracked?

"Padfoot? What is Padfoot?" Where is it hidden? What does he mean, Snape?" Umbridge pounced.

Snape turned but remained devoid of emotion.

"I have no idea. Potter, when I want nonsense shouted at me I shall give you a Babbling Beverage. And Crabbe, loosen your hold a little, if Longbottom suffocates it will mean a lot of tedious paperwork, and I am afraid I shall have to mention it on your reference if you ever apply for a job."

Crabbe's hold loosened almost imperceptibly as Snape left and Neville was confused.

"Very well. Very well... I am left with no alternative.. This is more than a matter of school discipline... This is an issue of Ministry security... Yes... Yes... You are forcing me, Potter... I do not want to but sometimes circumstances justify the use... I am sure the Minister will understand that I had no choice..."

Malfoy shifted eagerly in place.

"The Cruciatus Curse ought to loosen your tongue."

Neville's blood froze. Just how did they get themselves into these situations?

"No!" Hermione all but shrieked. "Professor Umbridge - It's illegal - The Ministry wouldn't want you to break the law, Professor Umbridge!"

She took no notice and advanced on Harry who was sitting quite still. They exchanged words, Umbridge admitting that she had sent dementors on Harry over the summer and Neville cringed. When she had had enough of their arguing, Umbridge raised her wand against Harry.

"NO!" Shouted Hermione. "No - Harry - Harry, we'll have to tell her!"

What?

"No way!" Harry raged, struggling.

"We'll have to, Harry, she'll force it out of you anyway, what's... What's the point?" Hermione buried her face into Millicent's robes and the Slytherin pulled away quickly, leaving Hermione free for the time being.

"Well, well, well! Little Miss Question-All is going to give up some answers! Come on then, girl, come on!"

"Er - My - Nee - No!" Ron tried to voice through his gag. Ginny and Neville were staring at the crying girl as well as everyone else in the room.

"I'm - I'm sorry everyone, but - I can't stand it -"

_What_?

"That's right, that's right girl!" Umbridge seized her quivering form and Neville was developing the sneaking suspicion that Hermione was having her on. "Now then... With whom was Potter communicating just now?"

"Well, well, he was _trying_ to speak with Dumbledore..."

Oh Merlin, that girl was too smart for her own good.

"Dumbledore? You know where Dumbledore is, then?" Umbridge questioned.

"Well... No! We've tried the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley and the Three Broomsticks and even the Hog's Head -"

"Idiot girl, Dumbledore won't be sitting in a pub wen the whole Ministry's looking for him!" the professor shouted at Hermione.

"But - But we needed to tell him something important!"

"Yes? What was it you wanted to tell him?"

"We... We wanted to tell him it's r-ready!" Hermione wailed.

"What's ready? What's ready, girl?" Umbridge seized her again and shook her.

"The... The weapon," Hermione lowered her voice to a whisper and Umbridge looked triumphant.

_What the Hippogriff_?

"Weapon? Weapon? You have bee developing some method of resistance? A weapon you could use against the Ministry? On Professor Dumbledore's order, of course?" Umbridge looked as if Christmas had come six months early.

Neville watched in awe as Hermione spun a tale on the spot of a weapon that didn't exist, and Umbridge was climbing straight into the centre of the web with determination. Glee flooded through him and he began looking around for ways to overpower the Slytherins once she had left with the horrid woman.

"All right, dear, let's make it just you and me... And we'll take Potter too, shall we? Get up now -"

"Professor! Professor Umbridge, I think some of the squad should come with you to look after -"

"I am a fully qualified Ministry official, Malfoy, do you really think I cannot manage two wandless teenagers alone?"

_Wrong assumption_.

"In any case, it does not sound as though this weapon is something that schoolchildren should see. You will remain here until I return and make sure none of these escape," she motioned to Ron, Ginny, Neville and Luna.

The Slytherins occupied themselves with gloating immediately after Umbridge had left, to the ire of the Gryffindors held captive. The lone Ravenclaw of the group was staring serenely out the window as she had most of the time since entering the room and Neville made eyes at Ginny and Ron. They had to get out of here. Whatever plan Hermione had thought up, she had no way of pulling through with one because Umbridge would soon find out that Hermione had pulled one over on her and they'd be right back where they started.

In the midst of their gloating, the Slytherins had neglected to notice the subtle shifting of the Gryffindors and Neville managed to slyly wrap his hand around the wand sticking out of Crabbe's pocket. The larger boy had been so concentrated on nearly choking him that he neglected to secure his hands.

Stupid Slytherin.

Struggling, he took a deep breath, as much as he could get and yanked the wand into his own palm and pointing it directly at Malfoy, who held the other wands grasped in his fist across the office.

"_Expelliarmus_!"

With force Neville had yet to see come from himself, the spell knocked Malfoy back into the wall and the wands he had been holding flew up into the air. Very quickly there was scrambling by all the Gryffindors and Neville pointes his wand at Warrington, the largest of the dungheads.

"_Impedimenta_!" he cried, and the burly male tripped over his own feet while he made a dive for Ron who had managed to get a wand in the chaos.

"_Stupefy_!" Ron knocked the girl holding Ginny out with admirable aim and tossed her her own wand. She turned on Malfoy who was beginning to stand up from being thrown by Neville's jinx but Neville didn't see what she ended up doing to him because Ron now had his wand on Crabbe, who's grip around Neville's neck tightened.

"Wouldn't do that if I wear you," Ron threatened. Crabbe didn't move and Malfoy could no longer help him, as it sounded to Neville like a bunch of flapping was coming from the direction in which Ginny had just advanced. Ron tossed Luna's wand to her after Goyle had stepped away from her without a word or a threat even thrown his way and Neville inwardly gloated. "Let him go."

"Or what?"

"_Stupefy!" _he cried again and Neville closed his eyes at the flash of magic heading for them. Crabbe's arms loosened and fell away and Neville stood upright, stretching his back that had been hunched over from his towering height. They corralled the Slytherins in the centre of the office and forced them together.

Luna cast a perfect _Silencio_ over the group so that their cries would not be heard by the time the Gryffindors and her had left after securing the office with them still inside.

"They're in the forest; I saw them," she commented when they emerged victorious from the pink prison as paused to consider their next move. They raced as a group down through the staircases and dodged teachers and students until they slipped out the front door and barrelled over the grounds and into the Forbidden Forrest. Luna lead them in the direction she had seem them heading when it had all began and before long they heard Hermione's voice and everyone sighed in relief, listening with bated breath for any sigh of Umbridge.

"Well, we can't do anything without wands. Anyway, Harry, how exactly were you planning to get all the way to London?"

Umbridge was obviously not nearby and Neville chuckled, Luna sending him a beaming smile when he let the sound slip.

"Yeah, we were just wondering that."

Harry threw an arm in front of Hermione as they turned at the voice and Luna, Neville and Ginny hurried after Ron as he drew closer to them.

"How did you get away?" Harry breathed in amazement once they realized who they were. Neville grinned, the bump on his forehead from Crabbe's clubbing throbbing as he did so.

"Couple of Stunners, a Disarming Charm, Neville brought off a really nice little Impediment Jinx," Ron gloated airily and handed their wands back to them quickly. Both Harry and Hermione visibly relaxed once they were in possession of them again. "But Ginny was best, she got Malfoy - Bat-Bogey Hex - it was superb, his whole face was covered in the great flapping things. Anyway, we saw you heading into the forest out the window and followed. What've you done with Umbridge?"

"She got carried away," replied Harry. "By a heard of Centaurs."

Story of life at Hogwarts. _Tough luck_, Neville laughed.

* * *

By the time Neville arrived back at Hogwarts after their crazy night following after Harry into the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry in London after flying there on Thestrals, he had collapsed back onto the cot in the Hospital Wing under the guidance of Madam Pomfrey. She had fixed him up in an instant but insisted that he stay overnight like the rest of them.

Ginny was propped up beside him a short way away with her ankle set on a pillow while Pomfrey mended her bones. The matron had forced Luna into onto a cot as well, the girl having been stunned near the end of the battle at the Ministry by a Death Eater. If Neville hadn't been bleeding freely and suffering from a broken nose and bruised face at the time, he might have been fast enough to help but he had been trying to help her ward doors behind them as they ran from Voldemort's followers when it had happened.

She was perched on the cot directly across from him and gave him a dreamy smile when he looked at her. Luna had survived relatively unscathed, better off than any of the others. After Dumbledore had arrived, the scene had quickly shifted in their favour and the students had been returned to Hogwarts grounds immediately, minus Harry who had run off at some point.

It appeared as though Sirius Black was not the person everyone had thought he was; it had not been explained to him in any detail, but considering Harry's reaction to the man falling through the veil, he assumed that he had meant a great deal to his friend, and that was enough for Neville.

Ron was fast asleep in his cot, having been knocked out for Madam Pomfrey to administer treatment for what they assumed was a Confundus Charm mixed with something else. Hermione had been revived after a bit of investigating on the matron's part though she was to be staying in the Hospital Wing for at least a few more days.

Two days later, on a bright Sunday afternoon, the group gathered again in the Hospital Wing.

"There you are, Harry, I knew they'd drag you into it somehow," Hermione commented on the article in the Sunday Prophet declaring that Voldemort had indeed returned. Harry nodded from the end of Ron's bed as Hermione read the paper aloud. Ginny was curled up at the foot of Hermione's bed while Neville sat on a chair between the cots. Luna had pulled up another chair and sat nearby with her copy of the Quibbler.

"He's 'the Boy Who Lived' again now, though, isn't he? Not such a show-off maniac anymore, eh?"

Ron was still suffering the aftereffects of the brain that had sucked on his face in the Department of Mysteries. It had effected his thoughts, and Neville had no idea how it had done that, but the result was quite a dark humour in Ron. He was on the mend but he still had a long way to go.

Neville looked around at the small group as they continued to talk about the article.

These were his friends. Proper friends.

Proper friends, and Luna.

How did he always manage to get caught up in whatever trouble Harry, Ron and Hermione had gotten themselves into over the years? Out after hours, finding the three-headed dog, getting detention for trying to warn Harry and Hermione that Draco was conspiring to have them caught while sending a dragon off the Astronomy Tower, the Forbidden Forest after that, Hermione putting him in a full body bind to keep him from stopping them from leaving the Tower after curfew to find the Philosopher's Stone, loosing his Hogsmeade visits because he had left around a list of passwords for the Tower that Sirius Black had used to get in, the resulting howler from his gran... So many times they had collided and only now did it all seem to come together for a reason.

Friends.

"Well, it's certainly given them lots to write about. And that interview with Harry isn't exclusive, it's the one that was in The Quibbler months ago..."

"Daddy sold it to them," Luna piped up, lowering her magazine. "He got a very good price for it too, so we're going to go on an expedition to Sweden this summer and see if we can catch a Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

She glanced up at Neville and gave him a happy grin, making his chest clench.

How was he ever supposed to go all summer without seeing these people?

* * *

The train ride back to London was mainly uneventful, the six of them having stuck together since the Ministry. Their compartment was quite relaxed, even after Harry had returned from the loo; a bunch of Slytherins had tried to jump him but had done it in an unfortunate spot. The compartment right beside the scene of the crime had held a handful of D.A. members who had jumped to his aid, incapacitating them in the blink of an eye.

Hermione was quietly reading the paper again, Ginny had borrowed Luna's Quibbler and was doing the quiz in the back, and Neville was taking notes on the growth of his Mimbulus Mimbletonia while Luna sat beside him staring out the window and occasionally commenting on something quite unrelated to anything going on in the compartment.

"You know, I think you're Mimbletonia would like to have a name," Luna suggested airily, like a breeze of contemplation.

"You mean, like a proper name? Like I'm Neville and you're Luna?" he asked lowly.

"Yes," Luna nodded and the plant gave off a cooing noise again. It had recently started to do that to Neville's surprise. He still didn't know if it meant anything, but he was taking at a good sign.

"Any - Er, any suggestions?" he asked, open expression on his face. Luna stared at the potted cactus-like plant for a few long moments, watching it coo and wiggle slightly.

"I think it looks quite like a 'Verona'."

Simple. To the point.

Who was he kidding? Luna was anything but. However her answer was straightforward and so he laughed quietly and nodded.

"'Verona' it is," he agreed, thinking that if anyone was good with giving plants human names like a pet, it would be Luna. "So when do you leave on your trip?"

"In two days," she answered. "Daddy says just enough time to unpack and then pack again and because of the quarter moon, we should leave at dusk as opposed to dawn."

"That makes complete sense," Neville nodded slowly with a grin on his face.

"I'm going to miss you, Neville Longbottom."

"I'll miss you too, Luna Lovegood."

* * *

**A/N: I skipped over the actual Ministry scenes because 1) it's a LOT of stuff and 2) Neville was with Harry like 99% of the time so nothing would be new at all. **

**I hope you liked the moments I came up with that filled in the gaps that we don't see in OoTP and I think the next chapter will be the last one.**

**Leave me with your thoughts!**

**Cheers**


	4. Chapter 4

**Much smaller sections of dialogue are taken directly from OoTP. Still not mine.**

* * *

Summer was a haze of publicity from being one of the six students to break _in _to the Ministry of magic after breaking _out_ of Hogwarts while Delores Umbridge was in charge, thinking about the year to come, and trying to put Luna out of his mind. The effort it took Neville to keep himself from thinking about her during the long stretch of vacation had taken more energy than he would have thought and by the time August 31st rolled around, he had come to the conclusion that all the heart clenches and fluttering in his stomach when she had been around could be because he was quite fond of her.

You know, _fond._

Oh Merlin, he had _kissed _her. That memory made him want to heave from both horror and elated giddiness simultaneously.

And so when Gran had taken him to King's Cross the next day, he had barely said goodbye and started along the platform for the train with his trunk in tow when he had spotted her golden hair through the crowd and nearly tripped over his own two feet. No one who had seen thought that it was odd, as he usually did it anyway. However this time it had been because his heart had seized up, frozen in his chest with his breath caught in his throat at the sight of her, regardless of the fact that she had been walking away from him.

"Luna!" Neville shouted after her, trying to keep his voice even as he picked his way through the people milling about beside the train. "Hey, Luna!"

She turned at the sound of his voice with a dazed half-smile and he gave her a lopsided grin.

"Hello, Neville."

Two months without that voice.

"You look as though you've been attacked by some pixies. Your cheeks..." she trailed off and Neville laughed. They were pink from happiness and exertion.

"Yeah, I was. Didn't have you around to fend them off for me," he joked and she smiled wider.

"We should probably find a compartment before the Express leaves," she turned again and started for the rear of the train.

"Er, good idea," Neville started after her and they boarded through a nearby door. Luna held Trevor as Neville lifted her trunk up the few steps to the coach for her before doing the same with his own, and she did so without a fuss.

"Have you gotten taller?" Luna asked shuffling along behind him as he balanced his toad again with his luggage.

"I - You know Luna, I'm not sure. But probably," he nodded, feeling his cheeks heat up. "There's Harry and Ginny -"

"Ginny's going to go find Dean. Oh, yes, there she goes," Luna said, as if she were commentating for a muggle chess match or something equally as unexciting and predictable and Neville chuckled.

"Hi, Harry!" he called out as they drew nearer behind the raven-haired boy.

"Neville!" Harry sounded quite relieved as he turned.

"Hello, Harry," Luna piped up from behind Neville, peeking around his arm.

"Luna, hi, how are you?"

"Very well, thank you," she replied and Neville saw Harry take in the magazine she held close to her.

"Quibbler still going strong, then?" he asked, the corners of his eyes crinkling in happiness.

"Oh yes, circulation's well up," she nodded enthusiastically.

"Let's find seats," Harry suggested and they began to make their way towards the caboose, looking into compartments as they passed to find an empty or mostly empty one. Neville was blown away by all the attention they were receiving and he wondered latently if Harry got this all the time.

"They're even staring at _us!" _Neville said, pointing between himself and Luna. "Because we're with you!"

"They're staring at you because you were at the Ministry too," replied Harry, as he lifted his luggage up into the rack. "Our little adventure there was all over the _Daily Prophet, _you must've seen it."

"Yes, I thought Gran would be angry about all the publicity," said Neville, "but she was really pleased. Says I'm starting to live up to my dad at long last. She bought me a new wand, look!" He pulled out the dark red strip of wood proudly.

"Cherry and unicorn hair," he announced. "We think it was one of the last Ollivander ever sold, he vanished next day — oi, come back here, Trevor!" The toad leapt from his hand and Neville lunged after him.

"Are we still doing D.A. meetings this year, Harry?" asked Luna as Neville climbed back into his seat. She was dislodging a pair of odd-looking glasses from the centre of The Quibbler as she gazed at Harry intently.

"No point now we've got rid of Umbridge, is there?" Harry got comfortable. Neville felt his face fall, having been looking forward to picking up where they had left off. He was counting on it to use as an excuse to continue practicing outside of meetings with Luna. He'd barely ever see her now.

"I liked the D.A.! I learned loads with you!"

On top of not seeing Luna regularly aside from meal times, the thought of not having those meetings to look forward to and new spells to perfect was depressing.

"I enjoyed the meetings too," said Luna quietly, meeting Neville's eyes briefly. "It was like having friends."

Neville and Harry were silent after Luna's confession, though likely for different reasons. Neville suspected that Harry never dealt with any odd comments well, from Luna or not, and Neville was contemplating plucking up enough bravery to ask her to continue their study sessions for the year ahead.

* * *

"Well, Longbottom, I can't say that I'm surprised at your enthusiasm for the idea. I recommend you think quite hard about what properties you would like to breed into the plant of your choice and perhaps if you come up with something workable by next year, you could use it as your end of year project," Professor Sprout smiled up at Neville and he grinned excitedly.

"I'll just - erm - do some research on some ideas, then," he stammered happily.

"Yes, take a few weeks and use you knowledge and judgement to pick the combination with the highest probability of working out, save yourself some trouble. Who knows? You could use this on applications for post-Hogwarts apprenticeships! If breeding is your area of interest, then perhaps I better put you in contact with Lorraine Stibbens from St. Mungo's..."

The first morning of classes had been dampened by getting his schedule from McGonagall and being told that he would not be taking N.E.W.T level Transfiguration. However a brief visit to Sprout in the greenhouses to ask her a few questions about an idea he had had over the summer had buoyed his spirits quite considerably. A trip to the library was definitely in store before lunch. Groaning, Neville realised that he had to get through Defence with Snape first.

Luckily, at least half of the class was well on their way to non-verbally defending themselves since Harry had helped them with Shield Charms last year. Unfortunately the non-verbal jinxing wasn't going as well and being paired with Hermione only helped so much. After declining Harry, Ron and Hermione's offer to join them for lunch and start on Snape's homework when Hermione went to Arithmancy, Neville beat the familiar path up to the library to start gathering ideas for his Herbology project.

Surrounded by a pile of books, Neville was taking notes and jotting down ideas as they came to him. He had only had the vague idea of breeding something into a fairly harmless plant, or enhancing a plant's ability, perhaps for potion-making or something like that. It was nearing dinner time when he finally sat back, his head buzzing with possibilities.

Perhaps he should concentrate on what he had at his disposal. He had heard that Slughorn was quite a bit easier to talk to; maybe he should start with the Potions Master and pick his brain over.

After returning the books to their places, Neville started down for the dungeons, thankful that he would probably not run into Snape down this way before classes let out. The door to the classroom was shut tightly and so Neville leaned against the stone corridor waiting for class to let out. A few minutes later, the door opened and out came the sixth years that had taken on Advanced Potions.

"How did you do that?" Ron hissed to Harry as they rounded the doorway.

"Got lucky, I suppose," Harry answered vaguely and Neville spotted Draco Malfoy nearby with his ear cocked to the side almost infinitesimal.

"Hey guys," Neville piped up and pushed off the wall.

"Neville!" Hermione smiled up at him after tearing her eyes away from Harry. "Didn't think we'd see you anywhere near here, to be honest."

"Ah, well, yes," Neville nodded. "On any other occasion. I just came down to have a word with Slughorn about another project... Hoping he could spark an idea, I guess..."

"Want us to introduce you?" Harry asked, ruffling his hair. "I think I'm in his good books at the mo'."

"Sure, yeah," Neville nodded gratefully and Hermione snapped her scowl back to Harry. Neville had no clue what that was about but Hermione was scary when she was mad. Thankfully, he usually didn't see her glares pointed at him and he decided to remain silent on the matter as Harry led him back into the dungeon so that she didn't redirect her ire in any way.

"Professor Slughorn," Harry announced and the large round man jumped in surprise, having thought his classroom had emptied completely.

"Harry, my boy," he turned, a wide smile on his face. Slughorn's eyes squinted a fraction at the sight of Neville standing just behind the bespeckled boy and he offered a small smile, hoping it would sway the professor into helping him.

"Hi, Professor. This is Neville Longbottom, and he's looking for some help with a project for another class. I suggested you, sir, I hope you don't mind," Harry stepped aside so that Neville could extend his hand to the man.

"Pleasure to meet you, young man. Longbottom, did you say?"

"Yes, sir," Neville nodded and the professor's eyes widened before his face fell neutral again.

"Well, any friend of Harry's is a friend of mine," Slughorn conceded. "What can I help you with, my boy?"

The resulting conversation had Slughorn's utmost attention and Neville saw Harry fading in and out of interest as the two conversed on the properties of the rose.

"Well, if you were looking for a starter point, I should indeed recommend the rose. Parts of the plant are used in all sorts of potions; they are well-known to help blend together a potion if there are other ingredients that do not lend themselves well to coming together under certain circumstances. Most parts are used in some fashion; petals, essence, oil, absolute... even the thorns are utilized in some love potions."

"Blending, as in cross-breeding as well?" Neville reasoned.

"Yes, I'm sure you know that there are limitless crossbreeds of rose varieties, coming from all different parts of the world. I imagine the ease at which they are spliced together is an indicator to their inherent properties in potion-making. That does make sense, doesn't it?"

"Love potions... What else are they used in, Professor?" Neville pulled a bit of parchment from his bag and a shabby quill.

"Oh, a great many, Longbottom. Off the top of my head, quite a lot of cosmetics and creams are imbued with petals or oil for their anti-aging properties. Here have a look at this," Slughorn led the pair of boys around his desk to the table bearing four cauldrons and lifted the top of one for them to get a closer look at. "This is Amortentia, the strongest love potion in existence. It gets its colouring and sheen from powdered moonstone but also contains both rose thorns which are a little unstable and rose absolute, which is a distilled liquid reduction of the petal. The absolute helps stabilize the thorn, but the thorn lends its strength to the potion as a whole, thereby making it both the strongest in its category and the most unpredictable in brewing and administering."

Neville was soaking up everything the professor said and scribbling notes for himself while Harry leaned in closer and took a good whiff.

"Harry, can you recall your friend Hermione Granger's explanation of the smell for Mister Longbottom?" the teacher beamed as Harry took a deep breath before standing up again.

"Erm, she said... That it smells differently to everyone, it smells like the things that are most attractive to us..." Harry quirked his head, as if trying to work something out.

"What do you smell?" Neville smirked at his fellow sixth year.

"Treacle," Harry gave him a lopsided grin and Neville laughed.

"Ah, yes. I can always pick up the tempting notes of crystallized pineapple myself," Slughorn chortled and motioned for Neville to take a whiff.

The scent that filled his nose was perhaps a mix of all the things he loved the very most in the world. Some he recognized and some he didn't but he knew without a doubt that they were all his favourites.

"Drooble's Best Blowing Gum," Neville started, avoiding Harry's eye, "freshly turned earth and... something else I can't quite place," he pondered and jotted it down for later. "Thank you Professor. I think I've got enough to start out."

"Any time, my boy. Any time," Slughorn replaced the lid of the cauldron, stopping the spiralling vapours abruptly with the heavy rich sound of the thick pewter coming together. "You sound as though you may very well be onto something; do not hesitate to come back with any questions." There was a gleam in Slughorn's eyes that Neville wasn't too sure of but either way, he had the beginnings of an idea started and that was what he had come for.

"Thank you, professor," the boys chorused as they made their way back out into the corridor, met up with Hermione and Ron who were waiting for them, and headed for the Great Hall for supper.

* * *

After a week of classes and trips to the library, Neville found himself coming to a few decisions about his project.

He _would_ use a rose bush as his starting point and the Amortentia had taken root in his brain as well. After researching and making one more trip down to the dungeons, Neville had learned a few more things.

Amortentia had powdered Moonstone in it, as the professor had stated. It leant the potion its colouring and was alternatively called a 'Wishing Stone' in some older texts. After some deducing and Hermione's help cross-referencing some facts, he had come to the conclusion that it was mainly the powdered Moonstone that gave the love potion its smell, allowing it to smell different to everyone, considering its alternate name.

If Neville could somehow find a way to imbue a rose bush with the properties of a Moonstone, the results might be interesting. It probably wouldn't be any help in the medical brewing of potions as Professor Sprout had hoped but nevertheless, the idea had caught and Neville was eager to get something started.

Friday evening found him sitting in greenhouse seven, a greenhouse not often used by anyone under fifth or sixth year and thereby quieter than the others. Professor Sprout had given him permission to use some space in there for his project and he had acquired a few cuttings of white cabbage roses from Gran's friend who had a very large back garden. White, so that he would be able to see any colour change once he started on his tinkering. The greenhouse was quiet as Neville re-potted the cuttings and labelled them for later, the fresh dirt soft and pliant under his gloves.

"I thought I would find you here," the breezy voice of Luna Lovegood came from behind him and Neville turned, accidentally knocking his pruning shears to the ground with a thud.

"Oh, Luna," he bent to pick them up. "I didn't hear you. Hi."

"Hello, Neville."

Neville watched as the blonde wisp of a girl closed the greenhouse door behind herself and wandered the perimeter of the room, gazing at the plants there. He took this as a sign and turned back to his roses, packing the soil around the base of another bunch of greenery. The cuttings bore no blooms, as it was autumn and not the season for it. He would ask Sprout about methods of aging them so that they would bloom faster, so that he could see any progress he was making with any of his experimental methods.

"I saw all the plants arrive for you this morning," Luna's voice was much closer and a glance behind him showed her leaning into some ivy halfway down the long side of the greenhouse now.

"Don't get too close. That climber likes to get handsy - err - leafy?" Neville paused to think about his wording and Luna's tinkling laugh made him grin.

"What are you doing?" she drew closer, slowly making her way to the far end where his was perched on a wobbly stool.

"I'm not sure yet," Neville answered truthfully.

"Oh, that's good," Luna nodded with gentle approval and went back to her perusal of the other inhabitants of greenhouse seven, occasionally having to stop to patiently untangle her hair from a vine or a grabby tentacle.

* * *

Classes were increasing in difficulty and Neville often had a hard time keeping up, even though he only had Defence, Herbology and Charms. The Saturday following, Neville had planned to spend mulling over his project and making a list of what he might do for experimentation methods once the cuttings had taken root in their new pots in the greenhouse. Instead, he found himself attempting to practice the Aguamenti Spell for Charms that Flitwick had assigned in the last week.

Aiming into an old bucket he found under one of the work benches, Neville concentrated on the task at hand. This would be a very helpful spell to have mastered once he got the hang of it. It wasn't so much the spell itself as it was the varying strength he had to figure out how to control. The Water-Making Spell could be used for a trickle to water plants or rinse something off, all the way to a tidal wave of water, whatever you might need that for. The trick was getting the subtle differences in casting down.

"_Aguamenti!_"

The first few attempts had the dented tin bucket flying off to the other side of the greenhouse under the force of the jet issuing from Neville's wand and he sighed. At least he was cleaning up the floor of the enclosed space for Professor Sprout. Maybe if he whispered instead?

Water was still clinging to the window panes and misting down from the force of his last spell, the sun glittering off the drops and through the slightly cloudy glass. Shards of rainbow light flitted around as the water droplets were pulled by gravity to the ground and Neville tried again.

A trickle! That was better than a deluge or a miniature tsunami, surely. Now to aim for somewhere in the middle of the two extremes.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, and Neville's wand sputtered in the middle of the gentle dribble.

"Come in!" he called out, perfectly aware that this was an open workspace, free to everyone who wanted to use it.

"Hullo, Neville," Ginny Weasley appeared, closely followed by her Ravenclaw friend. "Luna said you'd be here." The blonde shut the door behind the two of them and they peeked over the worktables in the middle of the room to see what he was up to.

"Hi guys," Neville stood to clear his stuff off the cleanest table for them and righted the bucket on his way back to the stool at the far end.

"Mind if we join you?" the redhead asked jovially. "We've just had Defence with Snape and we figured what better way to shake off the darkness of his classroom than an afternoon in the greenhouses," she laughed, setting her bag down.

"Conjuring water?" Luna inquired, casting a glance over the puddles gleaming in the autumn sun.

"Mhm," Neville nodded. "I'm just trying to get it down for Charms next week." He perched on his stool again, long legs pointing at the knees as he brought his feet up to the rung there.

"Oh, we've just started Vanishing Spells in Transfiguration!" Ginny exclaimed. "You conjure, we'll vanish?"

"Sure," Neville nodded. Hermione had helped him with Vanishing last year and he had a handle on that, thankfully. The two girls pulled themselves up to sit on the worktable, tucking their skirts around themselves modestly. However did girls manage to get on with not wearing pants? It was a wonder of the modern world. Neville pulled his stool a little closer to them, the bucket sitting in the middle of the expanse between them.

"After you then, Neville," Luna breezed.

"A bit of practice can't hurt, even though we're not vanishing snails," Ginny nodded.

The trio spent the next hour practicing together as the sunk started to sink in the sky to the west. By the time Ginny said goodbye to the pair, Neville had managed to find the sweet spot. He filled the bucket without splashing water anywhere and Luna Vanished it moments later with a soft '_Evanesco_'.

"I think I've got it, thanks Luna," Neville gave her a small smile and put the bucket back where he had found it earlier. The two fell into silence as Luna pulled a textbook from her bag and made herself more comfortable on the worktable, leaning back against one of the supports as Neville moved back to his rose bushes. He sat and stared at the dark leaves for a few minutes before Luna brought him back to the present.

"So what sort of research are you doing just now?" she asked from her studying spot. Neville had vaguely explained his plans to her over breakfast on Tuesday and she had been quite encouraging.

"I'm not doing any. I'm just staring at it," Neville turned to regard his companion.

"I thought so. Why?"

Ever the Ravenclaw.

"I dunno. Sometimes it helps to just stare. Maybe I'll work it out," Neville answered and Luna shifted her attention back to her book, flipping the page delicately.

"Quite right," she agreed.

Neville pressed his lips together, knowing that he wasn't just talking about his plants.

* * *

Over the next weeks Neville gathered information and developed ideas to help along his pet project and he was making quite a bit of progress thanks to Professors Slughorn and Sprout, Hermione and on occasion, Luna. She had taken to dropping into greenhouse seven when she thought he might be there and keeping him company as he scribbled out theories or reread a text on something to do with Moonstones, roses, love potions and any other thing that might help.

By the time mid-October had rolled around, Neville had compiled a list of supplies he needed from Slug and Jigger's Apothecary in Hogsmeade on their first trip. The blustery Saturday morning started with him waking abruptly and falling out of bed to Ron's yells as he hung upside down by his ankle, Dean and Seamus rolling on the floor in mirth at Ron's expense. Luckily, Ron seemed to get over it quickly and soon the dormitories were emptying out for breakfast.

"...and then there was another flash of light and I landed on the bed again!" Ron beamed and shovelled sausages onto his plate at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

Everyone had piles of cold weather clothing beside them for the trip into town later, and the wid howled against the windowpanes behind the High Table. Typically on weekend mornings, Luna would wander over and sit with them as opposed to staying at the Ravenvclaw table but she arrived later this morning.

"Was this spell, by any chance, another one from that potions book of yours?" Hermione scowled and Neville grimaced, looking down at his plate again as she battled over something Neville didn't understand with Ron and Harry, who looked just as irate as she did.

"Are you going into Hogsmeade this morning?" Neville asked Luna quietly, trying to shut out the argument a few seats down from him.

"I wasn't going to..." Luna concentrated on cutting her bacon before looking up at him intently. "But if you want some company, I can. I don't think anyone's taken my winter coat..." she trailed off, her focus wavering.

"Er, yeah, if you want to. I just have to get some supplies," Neville nodded. "Quick trip."

Luna nodded and gave him a lazy smile, her eyes wide and happy as usual. Neville fought the blush creeping up from under his collar and threw himself into finishing his food. Luna left a few minutes later to get her outdoor clothes, having left them in the Ravenclaw Tower and Neville promised to meet her at the front door.

Standing there in the Entrance Hall, Neville fidgeted with the large buttons on his jacket after winding his scarf about his neck and tugging his hat down over his ears in preparation for the chilly wind. People were leaving in twos and threes or larger groups, some sparing Neville a curious look and casting about for who he might be waiting for.

Oh Merlin. Was this a _date_?

He had asked her.

Would she consider it a date?

Surely not.

He had said... supplies... quick trip...?

Suddenly there she was again, the scarf around her neck making it look like she had twice as much hair as she normally did. Neville watched as Luna hopped down the steps nimbly, jumping over the trick step third from the bottom without a second thought. He always forgot about that one.

"I'm ready," she came to a stop in front of him and twisted her hair into her hat as Filch probed them for suspicious artefacts before they left the warmth of the castle.

Thankfully the sleet had stopped and it was just damp wind buffeting them and the two made their way down the hill into the small wizarding town there. Neville tried not to laugh as Luna hopped from one puddle on the trail to the next as his side, sometimes pulling ahead of him and sometimes lagging behind, at which point which he slowed until she caught up.

"Have you formed any hypotheses about your experiments?" Luna inquired as they entered town and turned down High Street, heading for the apothecary.

"Well, I'm going to try watering one with a diluted Moonstone mixture, Sprout says I'll only need the tiniest bit for that method. For another I'll do the same but add peppermint and Ashwinder eggs as well, I'll have to do a reduction of the first two and then add the Moonstone and dilute it with water..." Neville listed from memory as Luna nodded in understanding.

"Common ingredients in love potions," Luna noted.

"Mhm. If either of those had any effect, I can try brewing the concentrate in Slughorn's gold cauldron, he said it might have an effect on any colour change that might happen. And I'll implant a sliver of Moonstone in another, directly into the root. And of course a control sample."

The pair made their way into Slug and Jigger's, Neville holding the door open as Luna ducked under his arm and into the small shop. The walls were lines with shelves weighed down by hundreds of glass jars, bottles and phials full of all manner of things from curious to downright disgusting.

"Did you determine how to age them appropriately?" she questioned, eyeing a bottle that was half-full of something particularly gruesome.

"You were right," Neville nodded. "An Ageing Potion cut with rose absolute and distilled water should do the trick. And some climate control..."

They browsed the shop, Neville eventually loosing Luna to the aisle dedicated to shiny things after he had fetched his Moonstone from a shelf in that area. Gathering his other things, Neville double-checked his list of supplies and carried it all up to the front counter, nearly dropping his armful twice on the way.

When they emerged, Luna tugged her toque farther down over her ears, the wind having picked up in their brief absence inside. The sleet had also started again and cut through them life a knife, completely disregarding the fact that they had dressed for the weather.

"Do you want to visit anywhere?" Neville had asked, bending to speak closer to Luna's ear and she looked up at him and shook her head. "Castle then?"

The trek back to Hogwarts was far more challenging than the trip down the hill and the two struggled against the brutal wind that rolled down over the Scottish mountains around them. Luna had the sense to cast a light Impervius over the pair of them which helped to keep the rain from their faces but did nothing for the wind. Neville was grateful and clutched his bag tightly, afraid it might blow away.

When Luna nearly tripped and fell onto the gravel path after looking up from her boots for just a second, Neville reached out a caught her elbow just in time. She said what looked like 'thank you' but her voice blew away with a strong gust of wind. Neville pulled her mittened hand through the crook of his elbow, determinedly looking anywhere but down at her as he did so, feeling the flush from earlier creep back up to his cheeks. Luckily he doubted anyone would be able to tell considering the gale force winds had ensured that everyone entering back into the castle was pink in the face.

"Where did you find the idea to use love potions as your inspiration?" Luna's voice was small in the sudden quiet once they entered back into the castle behind some other students. People were casting Drying Charms on one another and Luna grinned, both of them already dry from her Impervius Charm. They tugged their scarves loose to hang around their necks and pulled their hats off, the warmth of the castle thankfully seeping back into their bones quickly.

"Well, it was from Amortentia, actually," Neville dropped his hat and gloves into the bag with his potions supplies and took a deep, warming breath.

There was that smell again. The unknown smell from when Slughorn had let him sniff the gently bubbling love potion...

"I didn't think you took sixth year Potions," Luna stuffed her mittens in her pocket and pulled her jacket open as they made their way up the Grand Staircase, Luna's hop over the third step prompting his own.

"I don't," Neville ducked his head. "I went to ask Slughorn for help when he had some on the table and he showed it to me. We talked about roses and stuff... I researched the olfactory process of the potion, the morphosis... a lot of other things I can't pronounce."

Luna gave a jingling laugh but didn't comment as they trekked up to the seventh floor where they would soon separate to go in opposite directions to their common rooms.

"If I could just find a way to make the change to the rose a part of its properties on a permanent basis..." Neville trailed off, getting a whiff of the mystery smell again but not enough to ease his eagerness to find out what it was. Was it the castle?

"Love potions and plant breeding? You are surprisingly romantic, Neville Longbottom," Luna commented airily as they made their way quickly around the open Transfiguration Courtyard and through the doors to the other side. Neville held the heavy door open for her and when she passed under his arm for the second time that day, his eyes widened in shock.

The mystery smell was Luna.

* * *

Once he knew it was Luna that the Amortentia mirrored for him, Neville couldn't not pick it up whenever she was near. _Fond_, he remembered thinking at the beginning of the year when he had first laid eyes on her after two months apart. Fond indeed.

After watering the rose bushes with the concoctions unique to each pot and the Ageing Potion mixture, November came quickly and the roses began to bloom. The control plant was perfectly and pristinely white setting a precedent of high quality and Neville sent another silent thanks to Gran's friend. The one that had been watered with the Ashwinder eggs, Moonstone and peppermint took on a troublesome grey hue despite smelled distinctly of mint, and so his discarded that one straight away. The third, the one with just the Powdered Moonstone, remained a pure white and the petals had a distinct gleam about them, concentrated around the veins where the water would travel naturally beneath the membrane. It also smelled of rose with subtle hints of what he assumed would be the same smell as Amortentia for he thought he smelled Drooble's when he leaned in closely. Brewing the Ashwinder and peppermint version in Slughorn's gold-plated cauldron only had the benefit of not changing the colour to a pallid grey, however it still smelled only of peppermint.

The fifth plant however had the most promising of results.

The one Neville had implanted a sliver of Moonstone into directly had retained the original ivory colour and when it bloomed, the aroma was been intoxicating. He had thought for few days after the other buds had begun to open that he had inadvertently shocked that particular plant too much by inserting the foreign stone into the root but Luna had had an idea.

"It's Moonstone," she had stated by way of explanation on the third Saturday in November.

"Erm, yeah," Neville had looked up from his textbook slowly, confusion evident on his face. They had been quietly working a the same table in the library for most of the afternoon and the pale sun was sinking beneath the horizon quickly now that it was winter.

"Cestrum Nocturnum! Ipomoea Alba!" she had stared back at him from across the desk patiently as he had worked out what she was talking about. The cogs had started turning and something had jogged in his memory.

"Nocturnum... Cestrum... Night jasmine and - night jasmine and moonflower!" Neville had sat up straight. "Luna, you're a genius!" Neville began packing up his papers and books haphazardly, stuffing them into his bag roughly and murmuring to himself as she had packed her own things at his insistence with a glazed smile.

The two had sped out of the library and down the steps beyond the front doors, racing toward the greenhouses. Luckily, night had just fallen and they both looked up quickly to see the glowing orb rising in the dark sky.

La luna.

Neville knew immediately upon entering the last greenhouse in the row of glass structures that she was right. The smell was unmistakably stimulating and they came to a halt in front of the two plants at the end, not bothering to even pause to close the door behind them like they normally did.

"It's night blooming," Luna whispered, leaning in close.

"Of course," Neville replied in an equally hushed voice and watched as she reached out gingerly and rubbed a dark green leaf between her thumb and forefinger. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"The properties of night blooming flowers are different from those that rely on the sun. They're more delicate, like jasmine, for example," Luna continued. "Their properties also wax and wane, like the moon."

After gazing at the plant side by side for a few minutes, Neville fetched his pruning shears and set to removing any dead leaves or bad blooms as Luna watched on in wonder.

"Does it feel odd?" she broke the silence from her perch on the stool Neville usually utilized. "Since you prefer the sun?"

"Erm, no. It's more relaxing, actually," Neville mumbled in response. He was still working over the plant, making notes of any differences between the control and this one and taking slow lungfuls of air whenever he leaned in close.

"Moonlight does that," she paused. "Is that beet and plantain? No wonder I haven't seen a single bimblesnip in here."

Neville closed his eyes, thankful she could not see the look on his face at her statement and chuckled to himself.

* * *

The time between their discovery in November up until the last day before the Hogwarts Express would take them back to London for Winter Break was spent tending to the rose bush that had had the best results and transplanting another cutting. Neville was determined to see before Christmas whether or not the new cutting would grow into a bush that possessed the same changes as its parent, without the aid of the moonstone embedded in its root.

Classes picked up even more, professors piling on the work for the holidays and Luna often accompanied Neville in greenhouse seven, even if they worked in complete silence for hours.

Neville had cringed when he had found out that Harry had invited Luna to Slughorn's Christmas party on the last Friday of term and debated heavily back and forth whether or not to tell him what he was planning to give Luna for Christmas himself. Perhaps the knowledge would keep Harry from making any moves on her, though he had a feeling the Boy-Who-Lived had a bit of a crush on Ginny at the present moment. He resolved not to say anything and let things happen the way they were going to happen.

The last day before the students returned home dawned clear and cold and Luna had made no mention of whether or not she might see him that Saturday. He fretted anxiously that he might not see her before they left, even though the idea was preposterous considering he'd probably run into her on the train home in the very least.

Wrapped tightly in his coat and toque, Neville walked down to greenhouse seven later that evening to grab Luna's gift and bring it indoors. The grounds were chilly and windy, empty of any other students. He couldn't blame them. The ground was hard and cold under his trainers and he hurried along the path that skirted the castle on the east boundary, eager to be inside with some warmth again.

He'd give it another pruning and make it look its best and then he'd bring it up to the dormitory for tomorrow-

"Luna?" he pushed the door in and spotted her reading under a few floating balls of light she must have conjured for herself in the darkness.

"Hello Neville," she answered, same as ever.

"What are you doing out here?" he glanced towards his work bench on the other side of the glass enclosure. Nothing had moved.

"Waiting for you, of course," she said simply, giving him a half-smile.

"Oh - did you need something?"

"No," Luna shook her head. "I just thought you'd be in here working."

"Oh, sorry. No, I was packing my trunk for the trip home and - doesn't matter," he laughed airily, nervously, and ran his hand through his hair. "I - er -"

Luna had set her book down and was directing al of her attention to him, wide eyes patiently waiting for him to spit out whatever he had begun to say.

"I have something for you."

There. He said it. No going back now.

_Relax, Longbottom._

It's just a Christmas gift. Hardly life-altering.

Luna cocked her head to the side slightly, gazing at him patiently as usual.

"It's just - it's just here -"

Neville motioned to the table down the aisle and Luna slid off the workbench she was perched on and led the way over to where the rose bushes were.

"I wanted you to have the first Moonstone-crossed rose bush. Professor Sprout showed me how to keep in small enough for a side table or a desk..." he explained, feeling a bit lost for words.

In the end, he had succeeded. The new rose bush mirrored the colouring of the spliced version, proving that the change had been permanent on a molecular level. This experiment had proved that roses were very adaptable, probably even more so considering he hadn't spliced to breeds together to make a hybrid but in fact had embedded a magical substance to create something new. It was more apples to oranges than apples to apples in essence.

"I thought you might like a piece of it, since you helped me so much."

"Oh, Neville," Luna nodded happily. "Thank you! did I ever say that roses were my mother's favourite?"

Neville looked down at his feet and scuffed the toe of his shoe against the ground, nodding. When he chanced a glance back up, he found Luna staring at the miniature-sized potted plant closely.

It stood about two and a half feet tall all in all, white night blooms nestled in the dark leaves. Curiously, instead of changing the petals like one might expect since Amortentia looked like liquid mother-of-pearl, it had in fact accented them with a lovely shining champagne colour. The ivory of the blooms remained pure and only on the edges of each individual petal had a sort of gilding appeared, much like fine white china that was adorned simply with gold along its edges.

"Have you named your new breed yet?" she asked idly, curious.

"Ha - yes - that's sort of part of the gift as well... _Rosa Centifolia Pandora_," he answered smoothly, hoping she would be neither offended nor upset over his choice. "It - uhm - it reminded me of a muggle myth Hermione once told me about - a golden box that held all the bad in the world, that shouldn't be opened but was."

"Pandora's box," Luna nodded in understanding.

"Pandora's rose," Neville gestured vaguely at the blooms before shoving his hands back into his pockets nervously.

"After my mother?"

"Yeah."

Luna was silent, a far away look in her eyes before she turned back to regard the plant once more. A minute passed and Neville hoped she was just being Luna and not actually upset. He waited on tenderhooks, raising a hand to scratch his ear as he watched her. When she turned to look at him again, she thankfully seemed her usual self.

"Thank you, Neville Longbottom."

Neville let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, a grin splitting his face with relief.

"You're welcome, Luna Lovegood."

Reassured that he hadn't made an ill-advised decision about what to give her, Neville offered to give it a trim and clean it up before she took it back to the castle. Luna sat close by at his side in a bit of a daze and watching him clip methodically for a few minutes, occasionally throwing out questions both related and unrelated to their previous conversation. Once finished, they set about getting the pot up to the castle and Neville insisted on carrying it for her. Luna held the greenhouse door open for him as he maneuvered through the doorway delicately. She also cast a charm around it to keep the biting wind and swirling snow from ruining his hard work and the two made their way quickly back around to the front doors.

"Did you know that the same principle of adularescense that gives the Moonstone its distinctive light refraction is also what the Crumple-Horned Snorkack utilizes to disguise itself?" Luna asked pointedly and Neville bit his lip to keep from laughing.

"That makes perfect sense, now that you've pointed it out," he nodded, placating her somewhat.

She was an oddity, but he didn't care. It didn't bother him one bit.

The entrance to Ravenclaw Tower came into view as they rounded the last corner on the seventh floor and Luna's steps slowed. Neville turned to see why, shifting the pot in his arms to get a better grasp and found that she had stepped suddenly rather close to him.

"Er -"

Luna stood on her toes, placing her palms on the front of his coat, and covered his lips with her own.

What was she - was she _kissing_ him? He nearly dropped the potted plant, catching it at the last second. He wasn't sure if what he was smelling all around him was the flower or Luna but he supposed it didn't matter as it was all the same in the end, right? Somehow the perfect balance of both firm and gentle, it was over before he had even had time to react.

"Thank you, Neville. It's a wonderful present," Luna plucked it from his hold while he stood there with a thoroughly shocked expression on his face. "See you tomorrow on the train." She gave his upper arm a small squeeze before stepping back and turning toward Ravenclaw Tower once more.

Luna had kissed him. _Luna_ had kissed him. Luna had kissed _him_!

He could feel the warmth on his lips where she had touched, and a tingle on his arm where she had squeezed. There was a rushing sound in his ears and she was walking away and he might never get another chance because he might be a Gryffindor but he didn't feel as though he had an abundance of courage most of the time - really it was now or never -

"Luna!" he called and she turned on the spot to look back at his tall frame, her blonde hair gleaming rather similarly to the rose petals. There was a beat of silence before Neville realised that he was moving, and he took half a dozen large steps to pull up to her. She was gazing at him with large rounded eyes and he wasn't sure if she was surprised, even after all this time, as he leaned down and copied her earlier move, this time not remaining a frozen statue in shock. Neville's hand found her jaw, seemingly on its own accord and tilted her head up for him.

Kissing Ginny Weasley had been nothing like this. With her it had been bumbling, nose-bumping and awkward hand placement and he remembered thinking when exactly was it the right time to close your eyes?

But _this _\- this was so different. He hadn't even thought of any of that stuff, it just happened and he didn't question it. When he felt and heard a small happy sigh from closer than he was accustomed to, he released her but remained close. Luna was flushed and he eyes were sparkling elatedly and Neville imagined he looked much the same, an unbeatable grin on his face.

"Yeah," he nodded, tucking his hands into his pockets. "I'll see you on the train tomorrow."

Luna nodded and he turned to double back to the Gryffindor common room, heart thumping wildly in his chest and his face splitting with euphoria.

* * *

**A/N: So there we are!  
**

**Just a disclaimer, I took a lot of creative license with coming up with the 'science/magic' of Neville's project so just keep that in mind. That being said, I really enjoyed researching both the muggle and magical aspects, no matter how much I may have warped them to suit my needs.  
**

**Let me know what you think of it now it's done!**

**Cheers**


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